Articles Posted in Parental Support

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How to Resolve Contested Divorce Mediation

How to Resolve Contested Divorce Mediation

Many divorcing couples in California are taking advantage of alternative dispute resolution to save time and money on their divorce cases. Divorce mediation has quickly grown to be the most popular form of alternative dispute resolution, allowing divorcing spouses to resolve their dissolutions under the supervision and direction of a neutral mediator. However, while many choose alternative dispute resolution to avoid the time investment, stress, and expense that divorce litigation demands, the reality is that even divorce mediation can devolve into a hotly contested legal battle.

It’s important to remember that divorce mediation only requires both you and your spouse to be willing to negotiate. Even if the two of you have trouble having the most basic civil discussions, you can still take advantage of the benefits of divorce mediation when you have legal counsel you can trust.

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Contempt in California Family Court: Causes and Effects

Contempt in California Family Court: Causes and Effects

If you are expecting to participate in any family court case in the near future, or if you recently finalized any type of family court case, such as a divorce or custody agreement, it’s essential to abide by your court order at all times. The term “contempt of court” applies to any incident in which a party beholden to a lawful court order fails to uphold their responsibilities dictated by the order. While mistakes sometimes happen, this is very different from a willful refusal to comply with a court order.

The penalties for contempt of court in California can be severe, and they are issued on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the judges overseeing these cases. In most cases, family court judges seek to assign penalties that reflect the nature of the offense in question. Whether you are facing contempt of court or need to file contempt proceedings against another party, you need legal counsel you can trust.

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How to Find the Right Family Law Attorney in California

How to Find the Right Family Law Attorney in California

Family law is a unique branch of civil law pertaining to legal matters among family members. Divorces, adoptions, child custody determinations, and spousal support determinations are just a few cases that would fall within the purview of family law in California. Therefore, if you are bracing for a divorce and need to resolve custody over your child or face any other type of legal issue about family law, it is vital to seek legal counsel from an attorney you can trust.

The right family law attorney can be invaluable, regardless of your case. If you take the time to find an attorney familiar with cases like yours and they have a solid track record of professional success behind their firm, you can significantly improve your chances of securing a favorable outcome for your case. With thousands of attorneys practicing throughout California, it can feel overwhelming to approach the task of retaining the right one for your case. The following are a few essential considerations when looking for legal counsel for any family law matter in California.

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Custody and Visitation Rights of Grandparents

Custody and Visitation Rights of Grandparents

When a divorce involves children, the process to determine custody, visitation, child support, and other important matters that directly impact both the parents and the children is complex. Sadly, the impact of a divorce can spread beyond the immediate family. If grandparents want to seek legally guaranteed visitation or custody, they should consult a San Diego attorney with advanced knowledge of California family law.

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How Can a Parent Lose Parental Rights in California?

How Can a Parent Lose Parental Rights in California?

Child custody cases are some of the most emotionally challenging experiences in parents’ lives. The outcomes of these cases have undeniable effects on the lives of the children affected by them. If you face any child custody determination, a domestic violence case, or any other family law matter in which parental rights could be in jeopardy, it is vital to understand how these cases unfold and how a parent might lose their custody rights.

Whenever the court must rule on a child custody dispute, the judge is legally obligated to rule in favor of the best interests of the child their ruling affects. This may sound relatively open to interpretation, and every custody dispute will involve different issues. However, a parent may completely lose custody and parental rights over their children if the judge determines this would be in the children’s best interests.

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How Can an Attorney Help With Family Court Order Modification?

How Can an Attorney Help With Family Court Order Modification?

Life can pose unpredictable challenges for anyone. When changes in your lifestyle occur due to forces beyond your control, some of these changes can have a material impact on any standing family court orders that you must observe. For example, if you have a family court order requiring you to pay child support and you lose your job due to company-wide layoffs, you may not be able to meet your child support obligation by no fault of your own. When these things happen, and you are concerned about your ability to abide by a standing family court order, it’s vital to understand how the modification process can help your situation.

Family law is unique in that it is possible to alter your family court order without a complex, time-consuming appeal process. Instead, modification allows any party beholden to a family court order to request reasonable changes to their family court order through a simplified process. While this may seem straightforward at first, consulting an experienced California family law attorney before filing your petition for modification is a wise choice. Your attorney can help you determine whether you have grounds for a modification, guide you through the process, and may even have suggestions for other alterations you could reasonably request that could make it easier for you to manage your court-ordered obligations in the future.

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What Happens When a Parent Violates a Custody Agreement in California?

What Happens When a Parent Violates a Custody Agreement in California?

When divorced or unmarried parents have a child custody agreement in California, both of them need to abide by the terms of the agreement to the letter. While life is unpredictable, and a parent may have an emergency or other unforeseen issue that interrupts their regular custody or visitation schedule, these one-off events are typically easy to manage between the parents. However, if a parent repeatedly violates the terms of a custody agreement or violates the terms to an extreme degree, the other parent must know how to address the situation and prevent similar issues in the future.

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Is There a Difference Between Alimony and Child Support?

Is-There-a-Difference-Between-Alimony-and-Child-Support

Individuals face a laundry list of issues and questions when they are going through a divorce, and it can be challenging to find a reasonable answer to simple questions. Couples that were once very much in love may be consumed with bitterness and anger when their marriage fails. Details such as spousal support, alimony, property division, child support, and child custody often drive a wedge even further between them. Most couples find that the most difficult challenges they face when going through divorce are spousal support and alimony. These controversial determinations are among the most common to go to court for a ruling by a judge.

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Under What Circumstances Can a Child Custody Agreement be Modified?

Can-a-Child-Custody-Agreement-be-Modified

Going through a divorce can be an exceedingly long, stressful process, even when the separation was relatively amicable. During the proceedings, many decisions must be made, including child custody and child support. Once these have been finalized, it can be tempting to consider the matter fully resolved, but when there are children involved, that is rarely the case. There are a significant number of unexpected circumstances that can crop up after you’ve settled your custody agreement, ranging from changes in your life or your spouse’s life to potential new needs of your child. At the same time, modifying your agreement is not the simplest process.

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How Much Does a Child’s Preference Impact Custody?

How-Much-Does-a-Childs-Preference-Impact-Custody

One of the most difficult challenges of going through a divorce is determining the details regarding child custody. Even in situations when the divorce itself is amicable, you and your spouse are likely to have differing opinions regarding how best to proceed with childcare in the aftermath of your separation. Everything from agreeing upon the primary residence and custody schedules to more complex issues like schooling, religion, extracurricular activities, and more can be areas of disagreement.

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